A Spinster at the Highland Court: The Highland Ladies Book One Read online

Edward watched the woman he spent his morning fantasizing about attempt to retreat.

  “Don’t scamper away quite yet.” He kept his voice low so only she could hear. He was sure someone was bound to see them standing together, so the least he could do was keep his voice down while he tried to seduce her.

  Elizabeth’s brows lowered and lines formed around her down-turned lips. “I’m not a squirrel, a chipmunk, or any other rodent. I don’t scamper,” Elizabeth hissed.

  She spun on her heel. Edward was prepared to follow her when his name was called by the only person who could force him to stay. He stifled his sigh.

  “Brother,” King Robert slapped his hand on Edward’s shoulder as only a brother could do. “I’m glad to see you again. We didn’t have enough time to speak last night. Your arrival came as a surprise and late.”

  “I had no desire to sleep on the ground again.”

  “Just what did you sleep on last night?”

  Edward ground his teeth. His brother’s comment might have been accurate several years ago, but these days he rarely dallied with any woman at court. It wasn’t worth the hysteria it caused when he returned to Ireland and Sinead. The woman had more eyes and ears at court than any foreign spy. Each time he wondered why he returned to her, he remembered her skills. Skills that brought him hours of pleasure when he could escape the mud and rain of the battlefield. She was also a brilliant strategist. Her advice had served him well over the past two years while fighting the British in Ireland.

  “I slept on the bed in my chamber. It was nice to have the quiet and the space to myself.” Edward looked at the man he called brother. Their only resemblance was in the coincidental color of their hair. Even there, the king’s was closer to carrot while Edward’s hair, which had darkened with age, was more russet. When they were children, their shock of red hair made many people wonder if Edward was the king’s illegitimate brother rather than his adopted distant cousin. It was only the reputation of his mother that kept people from voicing their suspicions. When Edward’s father died, his mother retired to a convent, where she died only a year later. Left an orphan if not in name then by status, the Bruce family took him in. Life in the Scotland was hard enough without being a child with no family. The two men were close even though Robert was several years his senior. Edward was closer in age and relationship to Robert’s younger brother by blood. Both men were named Edward and had been inseparable since childhood. When Robert sent his blood brother to Ireland, his adopted brother followed.

  “Sinead still got you by the bollocks.” It was a statement not a question.

  “No longer. She may have been the best mistress I ever had, in and out of bed, but I can no longer stomach the temper tantrums that accompany her talents. It’s no longer worth the trouble.”

  “How did she accept that decision? Or did you slip away in the night and pray she’ll forget about you by the time you return?”

  Edward rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He didn’t intend to have this conversation with Robert in the passageway outside the chapel where people still lurked.

  “Neither,” Edward jerked his head in the direction of an alcove.

  The two men walked to the nook in silence.

  “What have you to say?” The king’s face was set in stone.

  “I’m done in Ireland. I’m not returning, Robert. There’s no reason for me to. Edward has made inroads there and has enough men fighting for him. The local people support him as well. But you must realize the British won’t back down. My presence there won’t be what determines the outcome. I was but one more warrior Edward can easily replace with a local man.”

  “That isn’t true, and we both know it. You have a tactical mind that is invaluable.”

  “You must admit that is a half-truth. Sinead had as much to do with that as I did, and Edward is already enjoying her help.”

  The king’s eyebrows shot up, but Edward shook his head.

  “I arranged it. It softened the blow. Slightly. For both of them.”

  “Why do you really want to return? The fighting continues here.”

  “This is home.”

  “You have never considered this castle, or any castle, home.”

  “Scotland. The Highlands. They are home.”

  “The hills are calling you home?”

  “They are,” Edward admitted.

  “You mean to tell me that you’re ready to settle down on some farm with a wife and start breeding?”

  “Perhaps not a farm and perhaps not a wife, and certainly no breeding. But I’m ready to be home.”

  “You say no wife, but perhaps another mistress,” Robert challenged.

  Edward perceived the king’s suspicious look as much as he saw it.

  “I watched you speaking to Elizabeth Fraser. I have also been informed by the queen, who was told by the priest, that the two of you were inappropriately staring at one another.”

  “That priest moves quickly for someone the size of a sow,” Edward muttered.

  “Then you admit it.”

  “I didn’t admit to anything. It just didn’t take you long to find me, so for you to have been enlightened by Elizabeth, your wife that is, about what the priest told her means he must have been in quite the rush.”

  “He wouldn’t have been in a rush if there was nothing to say.”

  “She intrigues me. I remember her from the last time I was here. But fear not, I have no intention of making her my mistress. I have no interest in having one.”

  Edward realized he was speaking the truth, even if his intention only minutes ago had been to seduce Elizabeth Fraser. The notion of bedding her and moving on didn’t seem as palatable as it had while he pictured them together instead of praying. He did speak the truth that he had no intention of taking another mistress. They were more trouble than they were worth. He could easily find a lonely widow or bored wife. That had been his plan before seeing Elizabeth. That plan changed when he watched her during the Mass, changing once more as he spoke to Robert. He wanted to stay in Scotland, and that was the reason for his return. But the idea of taking a wife suddenly held an appeal it never had before. An image of Elizabeth’s face as she told him she wasn’t a rodent made him want to smile, but he squelched the impulse as his brother stared at him.

  “She won’t have you.” Robert’s sharp words broke through Edward’s thoughts and caused him to flinch and sent a stabbing spark of pain in his chest.

  “She’s a lady-in-waiting. Of course, she won’t have a dalliance.”

  Robert snorted. “Being a lady-in-waiting is little deterrent to many young women. Rather, Elizabeth’s father won’t have you.”

  Edward’s face became a storm cloud. “Because he assumes I’m illegitimate.”

  “He might, but that wouldn’t matter to him. He won’t have you because you’d gain him nothing. You’re already close to me. We have a bond that no one can influence or manipulate. You aren’t advantageous enough to him because you’re uncontrollable.”

  “You’d imagine having the ear of the king’s brother would be just the advantage any courtier would want.”

  “You would.” Robert conceded. “But everyone knows your loyalty is to the Highlands and to me, not to any one clan.”

  “Fraser hasn’t thought like a Highlander in nearly twenty odd years,” Edward scoffed. “He’s more interested in the money he can accumulate and the titles he can earn, but his clan barely benefits from it.”

  “He’d have you believe that, but that’s because the Frasers are prosperous without much effort. He has expanded their holds and brought them more influence, so don’t underestimate his loyalty to his clan. But he still won’t have you. The poor lass has had four broken betrothals. The queen is sure Elizabeth is convinced she’ll end up a spinster serving the queen until the end.”

  “That’s preposterous. There is no way she’ll go unwed.”

  “The way her father uses her as a puppet makes it very likely. She’s twenty-one
and has been here since she was eleven. Some are beginning to whisper she’s too old. She has a pristine reputation and would make any man a fine wife, but between those who want a younger bride and those who have no desire to tangle with Fraser, she’s losing potential husbands with every year.”

  All the better for me. Far less competition. She might welcome my attention if no one else wants her.

  “I recognize that look, Edward. She won’t have you. I warn you away, for your own good and hers. Don’t compromise her. Fraser won’t agree to a marriage, and she’ll end up as a soiled dove that my wife will have to remove from her court. Then what will she have?”

  Chapter Two

  T

  he king’s final words echoed in Edward’s head as he watched Elizabeth from the dais. His position at the king’s right hand afforded him a vantage point few had. She sat chattering with the other ladies-in-waiting, but she wasn’t as animated as the others. His gaze swept across those gathered on the benches. Several women sent him lusty smiles, and a few pulled at the front of their gowns to flash their cleavage. For the first time in his life, not a single one tempted him. Except the modestly attired brunette who filled every crevice of his mind.

  As the meal finished, Edward again rued the season of Advent. There’d be little chance to catch her in a dance. He refused to miss an opportunity to talk to the beguiling woman. He’d have to be resourceful.

  If only I’d come back a week earlier. I could be dancing with her right now. Four weeks. Four bluidy weeks before I can dance with her on Christmas Eve.

  Edward watched Elizabeth excuse herself from the table as she approached the dais and the queen. He hadn’t even noticed she was summoned by his sister-in-law. While he respected the woman, there was no love lost between them.

  Elizabeth stood before the dais and dipped into a low curtsy as she waited for the queen’s request. She caught the impulse to rub her knees before she embarrassed herself. The queen had been particularly indignant that one of her ladies-in-waiting wasn’t fully engaged in her prayer. It was made worse that a lady-in-waiting was caught looking at a man. And the worst was that it was Elizabeth staring at Edward.

  The queen gestured for her to step onto the dais, and there was no way Elizabeth could refuse. She kept her eyes averted but was certain Edward watched her. Elizabeth made her way to the queen’s side and listened as she was told she was making a spectacle of herself by drawing attention from Edward. She clenched her jaw to keep from retorting it was most assuredly not her intention. The queen dismissed her and insisted she retire for the evening. That was the only blessing to this conversation. She was relieved to escape the overheated Great Hall and all the people who filled it with various fragrances and odors. She curtsied once more and made a direct path for an exit. Elizabeth didn’t look back to see Edward was already gone.

  “You cannot convince me you aren’t scampering now.” The same baritone that caught her off-guard that morning wrapped around her. If she weren’t so dismayed at running into the man responsible for her three hours spent in prayer in front of the other young ladies and now responsible for her dismissal from the evening meal, she might have admitted the latter was a blessing.

  “And you cannot convince me you have manners,” Elizabeth snapped. She took a step back in shock at her own comment. “My lord.”

  She wanted to cringe, but instead proffered a shallow curtsy before trying to step around him. A deep chuckle stopped her as her lips pursed and shoulders went back before she raised her chin. Specks of blue, green, and gold danced in the candlelight as Edward’s hazel eyes reflected his sense of humor.

  “You’re likely right. Perhaps you could teach me. And my name is Edward, not my lord.”

  “I could.” Elizabeth sour face transformed into the practiced and seductive smile of a courtier. She swayed into him and lifted onto her toes to whisper near his ear, “But I don’t want to.”

  Elizabeth slid past him, but Edward wasn’t deterred. He followed her as she made her way down the passageway. Elizabeth could hear his soft tread, even if it was nearly silent. She wound her way through the maze of passageways with no intention of leading him to her chamber. Edward remained her shadow but never attempted to speak. After a quarter of an hour spent roaming the castle, Elizabeth led Edward toward a secluded chamber, but when he entered, she’d disappeared. Edward scanned the large music room and found it deserted. It was his turn to spin in a circle, just as he’d watched Elizabeth do that morning. There was no one there, and the only illumination was the moonlight streaming through the window.

  Where the devil is she? She’s no apparition, so how could she disappear? The little minx has some tricks up her sleeve. She may not be a bunny, but I’m just the fox to flush her out.

  Elizabeth inhaled a deep breath as her heart continued to thud behind her ribs. She was sure Edward was confused by her disappearance, but she counted on him not knowing about the secret tunnels that ran behind most of the walls of the castle. She came to the castle a curious and bored child. With little to do at the age of eleven, she explored her new home. A few of the other young girls showed her the secret network that few were privy to. Those same young women had moved on to marriage or returned to their clans. Elizabeth was the only lady-in-waiting remaining from her childhood. A few of the newer ladies discovered the passageways as a way to arrive at assignations, but none knew their way through the miles of winding and dark tunnels the way Elizabeth did.

  Elizabeth made her way to her chamber and shut the door behind her. She shared the space with two other young ladies, but she counted on there being little likelihood they’d return that night. They rarely slept in their beds, so Elizabeth breathed easier. Her maid appeared from the antechamber and helped her from her gowns. Elizabeth disliked having assistance every time she dressed, but from a practical perspective, she needed help with her court clothing and accepted that declining a maid would only draw unnecessary attention, but she disliked the fuss and the lack of privacy. Once the maid was gone, she used the water basin and scrubbed her face and neck. Elizabeth considered saying her regular evening prayers, but she decided God had already heard from her enough that day. When she laid her head on her pillow, her mind came alive, replaying the morning Mass and picturing the moment she realized Edward was watching her. It was the opposite of what she wanted. She’d hoped she was tired enough that her eyes would drop closed as soon as she laid down. Her body warmed as she recollected the interest she saw in his eyes. The deep resonance of his voice played through her ears, and her breasts hung heavy and full. Elizabeth could see Edward watching her throughout the evening meal as though she still sat in her seat at the lower table. Her stomach had clenched, and she became lightheaded as she approached the queen. It had been the greatest challenge not to look at him as she walked up to the dais. As her mind flashed to her two encounters with him in the passageways, she pulled her chemise to her hips. Her fingers threaded through the thatch of hair above the juncture of her thighs until she found the hidden pearl to circle and press. Her other fingers slid across her seam and through the dew that already pooled at the entrance of her sheath. Her breath caught as she admitted how strong her desire was for a man she could never have. She’d imagined him like this since the night they met a few months ago. Her fingers dipped within and spread the moisture over her bud. Elizabeth rubbed in slow circles as she pictured Edward naked. She was sure she wouldn’t be disappointed. His build suggested a man who was a hardened warrior. His tunic stretched across the broad chest and large crossed arms she saw when they met after the evening meal. Her mouth had gone dry, just as it did now. She kneaded her breast and her finger continued to work as the dueling sensations of pleasure and achiness began. Her thumb flicked her puckered nipple, and she began to rub faster and harder as she then pinched her nipple nearly to the point of pain. Her back arched as her hips rocked. Pleasure shot through her core and out to her limbs as she threw her head back and shut her eyes. She bit her lip to ke
ep from crying out Edward’s name.

  As the physical pleasure waned, her heart felt pinched, and tears prickled behind her eyes. She rolled onto her side and tucked herself into a tight ball. A tear escaped from her eye and slid down her cheek to be absorbed by her pillow.

  This is the most I shall ever have. With Edward or any other man. It’s all I’ve ever had. I shall die a virgin all for my father’s gain. He’d leave me a spinster and lonely for the chance to advance himself. He claims he does it for our clan, but any of the alliances he arranged then broke would’ve been advantageous. I could be wed with a family of my own, rather than alone with only my hand to pleasure me. I’d give Edward what he wants, what I want, if I could be sure my father’d never find out. God forbid I give in and my father finally does wed me. That would be my luck.

  As her tears leaked into her pillow and chemise, Elizabeth finally drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Edward was restless. After losing track of Elizabeth, he went to stand before the large windows and watched the stars twinkle between clouds.

  What is wrong with me? I’ve seen the woman all of three times, and I can’t stop imagining what it’d be like to strip her bare and sink into her over and over. To taste every inch of her. To see pleasure blossom across her face. Blossom. What the bluidy hell? I’ve never used that word in my life. I want more than that though. I want to see that spark of fire flash across her face as her eyes shoot lightning bolts at me. I’m curious about what she’ll say next. Can I make her smile as easily as I spur her temper? What would it be like to walk through these gardens with her hand in mine, to walk into the Hall with her on my arm? How many times did I slip from Sinead’s bed to avoid her clinging to me in her sleep? How many times did I run from having to wake next to her, as much as morning coupling would have been enjoyable? I never wanted her to become too comfortable in her position. But Elizabeth: I’d fall asleep and wake up every day next to her. How can I even be sure of this? What is it about her? I feel it in my bones that I can trust her as my wife in the daylight and my partner in ecstasy in the dark.